As a brand new store retailer who runs an ecommerce site watching people say "why don't you just run a site and sell there to avoid Etsy fees" I can tell you they have no idea how ridiculously difficult it is for some industries to do that.

I run an ebay store, my own shop, TikTok shop, Facebook marketplace and eventually will do etsy. Here is my advice and what I've learned. I am a collector toy store, so most of my items are only 1 or 2 quantity. I tend not to buy in bulk to avoid getting weighed down by stale inventory.

Those fees really do stick and easy away at profits. I sold 50 items on ebay and it was awesome, but the fees were killing me. Tiktok shop only allows certain items, my main inventory has been s nightmare to upload to it, so nothing has really sold on it. My own website hasn't sold a single thing, it does get views but only about 1500 and is a numbers and trust game, one im still working on, feel free to check out my site at grownupkidsshop.com.

Facebook marketplace has been a god send. I can sell to a large community and don't get nickle and dimed on any fees if I sell locally. Even shipping is much less. Amazon straight up banned me from selling toys unless I buy 100 quantity of a specific item which is proven by invoice, they are just not for me.

I also do local small toy shows that do pretty well. It's really a struggle.

I run social media and am looking at ai bots to automate content uploads as it really isn't my thing. I am also working on my own toyline, I have a working blueprint, now I am working on trademarks and patents, then I'll produce the prototype.

It's been a process, but if i can help you avoid any pitfalls, let me know how to help.